Activists Claim Responsibility Amid Probe Of UT-Austin Frat Houses Graffiti Defacement

AUSTIN, TX — As police investigate who was behind the graffiti defacement of several University of Texas at Austin fraternity houses last week, a group of activists has taken credit for the vandalism they say was done to spark a dialogue about university rape culture.

"In a statement titled "Barbarians at the Gates: A Statement from the Vandals," a group of activists posted a long message as to their motives behind the graffiti. The missive was posted on a website called itsgoingdown.org.

"We are a collection of friends and co-conspirators belonging to our local communities," the activists wrote on the website. "We are not associated with all the organizations that have shared our handiwork and celebrated it, despite the accusations of those on social media. This action is claimed by us as rogue acgors, and came from no organizational authority."

The Austin Police Department on Friday said they were investigating the defacement of several frat houses in the early morning hours of April 19. To that end, police released surveillance footage from the Kappa Alpha fraternity house at 2515 Leon St. that showed three suspects in the act of writing graffiti on the exterior of the building. In addition to that frat house, dwellings for the Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Gamma Delta also were vandalized.

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Some of the graffiti referred to fraternity members as rapists and racist along with other pejoratives. Those claiming responsibility said in their statement they didn't commit the defacement in reaction to a particular incident, but to call attention to the triple scourges of rape culture, white supremacy and elitism. The term "rape culture" refers to a society or environment marked with a prevailing social attitude that has the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse.

"It is no accident that so many fraternities take the style of plantation homes," activists wrote. "The institutions of Greek life are themselves colonial, bourgeois, patriarchal structures, founded to preserve the reproduction of the elite classes.

"Our attacks come in response to the everyday fear and feeling of danger that these institutions and their members produce for students of color, women, queer and trans students, and other marginalized folks. Catcalls, racial slurs, rape jokes, and more are the daily realities which go unspoken and uninvestigated [sic] by either the police or the university."

In March, University of Texas at Austin officials released a report on sexual assault on campus in which 15 percent of respondents said they had been raped. Titled "Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments," the report examined the culture not only at UT-Austin but the entire array of 13 institutions comprising the University of Texas system, officials said in the report.

Across the eight UT System academic institutions surveyed in the ambitious report, UT Austin had the highest percentage of reported rapes, "...either through force, threat of force, incapacitation or other forms of coercion..." since their enrollment at UT-Austin. The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at San Antonio had the second-highest percentage, each at 9 percent, according to the report. Conversely, UT-Tyler had the lowest percentage at 6 percent.

The survey gathered data from 26,417 students in the 13 various UT System academic and health institutions in the fall of 2015 and the early part of last year. All told, 7,684 UT-Austin students participated in the survey.

See also: 15 Percent Of Respondents To UT-Austin Survey Report Having Been Raped

It is against that backdrop that activists performed their civil disobedience, members suggested in their statement. One ally of the group told Patch the defacement of buildings was done in an attempt to spark a more substantive dialogue about the perceived rape culture at campus, of which they say there is a dearth.

"We will break the silence and the taboo around these institutions," activists wrote. "We will make clear to survivors that we support them and will fight for them by any means necessary. Students must provide for each other what these institutions can never provide us."

Far from contrite and unafraid of the ongoing police investigation to find those responsible, activists in their statement provide something of a primer for others wanting to replicate similar acts.

"Our message can perhaps best be summarized as: Every Student Can Tag," the statement continues. "Anyone can be The Vandals of West Campus. Buy some spray paint, with cash of course, can’t have a debit card trail. Turn off location services on your phone. Don’t take photos of your handiwork—wait for someone else to do so (quick shout out to the frat bros who got the best photos of the tags out of anyone—thank you so much for that propaganda work!)

"Have a change of clothes. Mask up and wear unidentifiable clothes so you can’t be tracked through video surveillance. Make sure you have a secluded spot to change in and out of costume. Aim for the darkest, quietest targets. Stay in small groups so you can defend each other in case confronted. Scout out the house before hand and be aware of any police or frat patrols."

The mass tagging took many by surprise, given it ambition and brazenness. Other observers also have expressed surprise at the reaction of university officials. In a strongly worded statement condemning the vandalism, UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves said the matter is being investigated in accordance with the university's recently issued "Hate and Bias Incident Policy."

On social media, critics of the university's official response have expressed puzzlement why the defacement is being investigated as a violation of the "Hate and Bias Incident Policy" rather than just a case of property damage or vandalism. Those questioning the university response have expressed a perception of that policy as one aimed to protect ethnic minorities or otherwise marginalized student communities.

Unveiled last month, the UT-Austin "Hate and Bias Incident Policy" was an outgrowth of a university town hall staged in the wake of fliers posted throughout campus expressing anti-Muslim sentiment. In a prepared statement announcing the new policy, Fenves referred to the anti-Muslim sentiment that sparked its drafting.

"On February 22, we held a Town Hall because there are members of our community who do not feel welcome on the Forty Acres — because of hate and discrimination — and that is unacceptable at The University of Texas," Fenves wrote. "The Town Hall shed light on the disturbing experiences of our students — experiences that caused fear and grave concerns. There were strong criticisms and genuine expressions of frustration and worry. The passion, courage and heart of our students were reflected in their words."

Before the drafting of that policy, members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity (also known as Fiji) sparked a controversy in 2015 after staging a party with a "border patrol" theme within their frat house at West 27th Street. The incident—during which several in attendance donned sombreros and ponchos, others name tags denoting common Mexican names—prompted the dean of students to work with its frat members to inculcate cultural sensitivity.

But, as the student-run newspaper The Daily Texan reported at the time, the culturally offensive and aggressively intimidating "border patrol" party theme didn't rise to the level of university violation, according to administrators. At least 20 students reported the party to university officials, some noting a similar party staged by the fraternity the year before.

“While the behavior doesn’t mirror UT core values, it’s within students’ right to freedom of speech at private off campus event,” university officials from the official UT-Austin Twitter account at the time, as The Daily Texan reported at the time.

Then-Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Soncia Reagins-Lilly agreed with the university's assessment: “Civility, diversity and citizenship are integrated into the fabric of the University of Texas at Austin,” Reagins-Lilly said at the time. “‘There is ongoing work integrated in everything we do. It’s not limited to any particular community. These are opportunities to talk about and learn from.”

Reagins-Lilly has since been promoted to UT-Austin vice president for student affairs while retaining her dean of students role.

To read the activists' full statement, click here.

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